Ensuring that an assessment tool is the most appropriate for a patient or client entails ensuring that the chosen assessment tool is well assessed in itself to ensure that it fulfills the required objectives. Such a process therefore entails looking at more information on the assessment tool, such as reliability and generalizability to determine its functionality. This is a continuation of an evaluation of the assessment tool the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaires (16PF) and will look at both the function and characteristic of the instrument, as well as its methodological considerations.
Part II: Purpose and Nature of the Instrument
Stated Purpose
The function of the 16PF test is to assess the personality of a normal adult, and according to Cattell, it is useful in a wide range of real life circumstances (Catell, 1956). It is therefore used in the identification of problems such as social problems, emotional, academic, anxiety and behavioral adjustment (Lani, 2010).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Description of Test, Items, and Scoring
The 16PF is an assessment tool that makes use of an assessment scale based on 16 factors that are primary, and five factors that are considered global. Generally, these 16 factors are centered on the five factors, which are identified as the ‘Big Five’ global factors in psychology. It is meant to be a tool that identifies personalities and in situations such as job qualifications, determine the fit of a personality to a particular job description. The test requires that the participant partakes by answering 185 multiple choice questions, and may include 26 more items for couples (Lani, 2010). The 16 primary factors include assessment factors such as tension, emotional stability, warmth and reasoning; the 185 multiple choice questions are each supposed to enable the ranking of each of these factors. The five universal factors include extraversion, independence, apprehension, tough mindedness and willpower (self control).
Use in Counseling
The tool is very applicable for use in counseling since it enables the identification of personality, through which the counselor is then able to choose the best mode of treatment for any psycho-social issues (Whiston, 2017).
Part III: Technical Considerations
Normative Sample
Normative sample used by Cattell (1956) included 295 men and women, who were undergraduate students, with a correlation matrix based on 70 variables (Cattell, 1956). The average age is not stated, but being an undergraduate student sample, would be somewhere in the late teens to early twenties.
Reliability
The assessment tool has a moderate to good rating of reliability. This is based on a sample of 10,261 individuals, with an internal consistency reliability average of 0.76 for primary scales (Lani, 2010). The range for all 16 scales was between 0.68 and 0.87. The reliability scale for the 16PF ranges from 0.1 to 1, with the latter indicating the highest levels and so forth.
Validity
Studies into the use of the scale have supported the construct validity (Lani, 2010). Its validity is further bolstered by the translation of the assessment tool into various international languages, including French, Italian, German and Japanese. Its success rate in applied validity is high, having been practically used in clinical problems, personality assessment, career development and counseling.
Generalizability
The tool is generalizable across all genders and cultures, but the development of local norms is advised when using new populations. The test is however only suitable for adults (from 16 years of age).
References
Cattell, R. B. (1956). A shortened “basic English” version (Form C) of the 16 PF Questionnaire. The Journal of Social Psychology , 44 (2), 257-278.
Lani, J. (2010). 16 Personality Factors (16PF).
Stone, C. B., & Dahir, C. A. (2011). School counselor accountability: A measure of student success . Boston: Pearson.
Whiston, S. C. (2017). Principles and applications of assessment in counseling . Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
